AINTREE FESTIVAL 2017
Day 2 – Ladies Day
Friday 07 April
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Picture of the Day
Ultragold ridden by
Harry Cobden We had decided to arrive at Aintree by around
10:00, so arranged to go to breakfast at 07:15. I ordered a full English breakfast of four
rashers of bacon, two fried eggs, half a fried tomato, a Quorn
sausage (it was awful, like rubber) and a few mushrooms; I’d have liked more
of the latter. I also ate three
yoghurts – vanilla, strawberry and peach & apricot. And one and a half croissants – not
surprisingly, I’d eaten too much by this stage! We arrived not long after 10:00; Sandra drove
today, so there were no car bonnet issues.
We wore sensible footwear initially, and took shoes to change into, so
that we could carry out our annual Ladies Day walk of the Grand National
course; we also visited Red Rum’s grave prior to beginning it. Having arrived back, we soon headed to the
course-side rails to reserve our favourite spot ahead of racing. The favourite for the first race was Sumkindofking, trained by Tom George and ridden by Adrian
Heskin; price 8-1.
However, the winner was Rather Be for Nicky
Henderson and Jerry McGrath. The
jockey was ecstatic, having been pipped aboard Theinval in the previous day’s Red Rum Chase. I was way off the mark with my selection, Sky
Khan; he’d been 4th last year but could only manage 18th place today!
The favourite for the next event was the Nicky
Henderson-trained River Wylde, ridden by Nico de Boinville; price
9-4. Alan King had a representative in
this one, The Unit piloted by Wayne Hutchinson. However the race was won by a 16-1 shot, the
Potts-owned Pingshou trained by Colin Tizzard and ridden by the owners’ newly appointed contract
jockey Robbie Power.
RSA winner Might Bite renewed his rivalry with
Cheltenham Festival runner-up and stable-mate Whisper; he was the favourite
at 8-13. The Nicky Henderson-trained favourite duly
obliged under a more conservative ride from jockey Nico
de Boinville this time around!
The favourite for the Melling
Chase was Sub Lieutenant, trained by Henry de Bromhead
and ridden by Bryan Cooper; price 100-30.
However, again it was a Colin Tizzard
horse which prevailed, the Potts-owned Fox Norton ridden by Robbie Power. Sub
Lieutenant was reported by the Stewards for ‘unruly’ behavior: The Stewards noted that SUB LIEUTENANT (IRE), trained by Henry de Bromhead, was unruly and difficult to saddle and had
therefore entered the Parade Ring after the signal to mount was given. They
further noted that the gelding was mounted on the course and had failed to
parade in race card order due to its continued unruly behaviour.
The joint-favourites for the Topham
were the Paul Nicholls-trained As De Mee ridden by
Sean Bowen and Seefood trained by Dr Richard
Newland and ridden by Richard Johnson; price 8-1. In the event, it was the Colin Tizzard-trained Ultragold which
won, ridden by Harry Cobden. The
partnership had been unconsidered, as they were priced at 50-1. My selection was Third Intention; he fell at the
2nd fence! Viewing the Topham from
the course-side rails I’d have described it was ‘civilised’, however Brendan Powell Senior quoted this classic
from Martin Dwyer during a phone conversation later that evening. "That's the last time I'm going in the jumps
weigh room. It was like Saving Private Ryan after Topham.” Although
one of his charges O O Seven had completed in 4th
place, Nicky Henderson came out to the racecourse, with his binoculars,
searching for his other runner Gold Present which had fallen at the Canal
Turn. The horse’s jockey Jerry McGrath
returned on foot, one boot in hand, accompanied by a medic; presumably he’d
been driven back from the site of his departure. The pair walked back through the Lord Sefton enclosure, heading to the medical room
perhaps. Liam
Treadwell was injured as a result of his first fence fall from Bright New
Dawn; the penultimate fence was omitted due to this issue. Liam missed his ride in the following day’s
Grand National, and was replaced by Aidan Coleman. Daryl
Jacob was also stood down following the race, but passed fit by the doctor
the following day and was therefore able to ride in the Grand National.
The favourite for the Grade 1 Sefton
Novices’ Hurdle was the Nicky Henderson-trained Constantine Day, ridden by Nico de Boinville; price
11-4. One of the stewards, under the impression that
Sandra and I knew what we were talking about, asked me what I thought would
win the race. I hedged my bets and chose two horses, The Worlds End and
Debece; they finished 1st and 3rd respectively,
with the latter losing the runner-up position by just a
short-head!
The favourite for the final race of the day was
Black Op, trained by Tom George and ridden by Adrian Heskin;
price 10-3. The race was won by Lalor,
for trainer Richard Woollacott and jockey Richard
Johnson; price 33-1! When mounting the Winners’ rostrum to receive his
prize, the elderly owner tripped and fell; how embarrassing for him. Fortunately he appeared unhurt.
Racing over, we set off back to the hotel, taking
exactly the same route as the previous day; or I should say Sandra’s route,
not my detour via the M62! Our evening meal was booked for 19:45 once more;
today our table was in a much better location. I chose spinach and ricotta lasagne, gin
and tonic lemon trifle, and an apple & mango J2O. |
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